


Stay Behind Me

by TheFifthPevensieChild



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Babysitter Steve Harrington, Big Brother Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson Needs a Hug, Mom Steve Harrington, Protective Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington is just a good person okay, and he and dustin are literally like brothers and its adorable, troy and james are mean though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 11:59:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15948902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFifthPevensieChild/pseuds/TheFifthPevensieChild
Summary: Dustin wanted to just shove past Steve into his house and explain what was going on after he was safe, but Steve was taking up almost the whole door frame, which was narrow, and was blocking any chance he had of that. “What’re-”“Steve, please, Troy and James are following me, and they’re right behind me-”Almost instantly recognizing the names as the guys who were the bullies Dustin had told him about, Steve shoved Dustin behind him and slammed the door, locking it immediately, just as Troy and James ran up onto Steve’s front step.Troy and James started pounding on the door, demanding to be let in, as Steve tried to reassure a very anxious and shaken Dustin. “Hey, listen, Henderson, you’re in my house now, and they can’t get in. You’re safe.” Dustin looked at Steve and nodded, jumping and nearly yelping in fear when Troy slammed the flat of his hand against the door.Aka awhile after Dustin tells Steve about Troy and James, the two boys find Dustin while he’s near Steve’s house, and Dustin goes to Steve for help. Basically Steve protects Dustin from the two bullies and is a big brother.





	Stay Behind Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!!! This is my first Stranger Things fic, so sorry if anything is a bit out of character!! I hope you like it!!! Feedback and constructive criticism is appreciated!!!

Dustin was known to go on enthusiastic rants when he got excited, whether it was about a book, movie, game, memory, or something he was passionate. Today was no exception. He was talking about something that’d happened a year ago to Steve, and his eyes were lit up in excitement as he rapidly told what’d happened.

“So then we were going to explore that part of the neighborhood to see what was going on, but we couldn’t because that’s the area where Troy and James live, so-”

“Wait, wait. Troy and James?” Steve asked, interrupting for the first time. Dustin nodded. “Who’re they?”

“They’re these guys who bullied us last year, but they moved up to high school this year so they stopped. They’ll probably start up again next year, though,” Dustin said, adding the last part as a casual afterthought.

Steve looked at Dustin and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, okay, no.”

“No?”

“That’s not happening.” Dustin stared blankly at Steve, and he sighed. “If they give you shit, come to me.”

Dustin blinked. “But-”

“Listen, dipshit, I’m not just gonna stand by while some assholes bully you guys.”

“There’s not much you can do, really. You’ll be graduated from high school by then. It’s fine. We’re used to it.”

“I’m still gonna live in Hawkins,” Steve said, but Dustin just shook his head and smiled the smile that meant oh-Steve-I-wish-you-could-understand-things-like-I-do-you-naive-human. He felt like that smile was getting directed at him too much lately.

“Anyway, so we were exploring as much as we _could_ but had to avoid that part of town,” Dustin said, continuing his babbling. He switched from story to story, getting distracted as he thought of another story to tell while he was still in the middle of one. He eventually started talking about El, and he had a huge grin on her face as he described some of the things she’d done. “And then that time she saved us at the quarry was _awesome_. You should’ve _seen_ the look on Troy’s face, it was hilarious.”

“Whoa, whoa, okay, there’s that kid again. She saved you? From what?” Steve crossed his arms over his chest. Dustin took in the protective and angry glint in Steve’s eyes and decided it’d be best to not tell him anything.

“Oh- that. Um- I… It’s nothing, really Steve.” Dustin laughed nervously, and when Steve raised his eyebrows, he quickly continued, “Seriously. They were just being annoying and it wasn’t…even that serious. Like. At all. And the knife-”

“ _Knife_?!”

Dustin gulped.

“Okay, Henderson. Spill.”

Dustin shuffled his feet, looking down. Not only did he not want Steve to get mad, but the more he thought about it, it was really embarrassing how easily he got caught with a knife to the throat. Mike had almost _died_ because of him. He _would’ve_ died and it would’ve been _his_ fault. His eyes started filling with tears at the memory.

Steve immediately noticed and knelt down to his level. “Whoa, hey, kid, listen, you don’t have to tell me, okay? You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Dustin looked into Steve’s concerned and comforting eyes and found himself _wanting_ to tell Steve. He at least had the assurance that Steve wouldn’t make fun of Dustin for what happened. Probably. “No, it’s okay. I’ll tell you.”

“You sure?”

Dustin nodded, taking a deep breathe to begin as Steve stood to his full height again. “Mike and I were looking for El, after she went missing. We ran into Troy and James, who were angry cause of something El had done earlier- she’d embarrassed him in front of the whole school.” A flicker of a smile lit up his face before it quickly fell again. “They…they had a _knife_ , Steve. We started running as fast as we could, but they cornered up by the edge of the quarry. Troy grabbed me and held a knife to my mouth and told Mike that it was his turn to get wet. He said that if Mike didn’t jump in the quarry, he’d cut out one of my teeth.” Dustin started to shake a little, blinking back tears, and Steve put a hand on his shoulder in reassurance, fire alight in his eyes. “I told Mike not to do it, but he…Troy started counting down, and as he reached one, Mike stepped off the edge. He _would’ve_ died if it hadn’t been for El. She showed up all badass and stopped Mike midair, lifting him up and then breaking Troy’s arm before they ran off.” Dustin finished his story, wiping away a tear in his eye before it could fall, as Steve pulled him into a hug.

Steve now had two brats to murder. “Jeez, kid.” He pulled away. “If they bother you again, tell me. I don’t care if I’m working a shift at a job or what I’m doing, _tell_ _me_. Got it?” Dustin nodded, mumbling out a thanks to Steve, who smiled slightly in return.

-~-~-~-~-~-~

The school year eventually ended, giving way to summer. The Party couldn’t have been more thrilled, immediately making plans for long campaigns and arcade trips. Days turned into weeks as their uneventful but fun summer started.

A few weeks after school ended, Dustin was walking to Will’s house, since it wasn’t that far away and his bike was in the shop, getting repaired after he had crashed it trying to prove a point for a bet he made with Lucas. He absentmindedly noticed that he was in the area where Steve’s house was. He only knew since Steve had insisted everyone in the Party know where his house was, just in case.

He got lost in his thoughts until he heard a twig in the woods behind him snap. He whirled around. Twigs that snapped in forests never meant a good thing, in his experience. He scanned the trees and, sure enough, Troy and James were there, glaring at him and walking towards him. It was only a mild surprise given _his_ track record for running into trouble.

Dustin’s eyes widened and he broke off into a sprint, cursing under his breath, running as fast as he could. The two bullies started chasing him and were gaining fast, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to outrun them forever. So, as they reached a road that went either straight or had a sharp turn, Dustin skidded around the corner and slipped behind a tree right before Troy and James rounded the corner.

They kept running for a few seconds before realizing that Dustin was nowhere in front of them, giving Dustin time to run forward on the path, making a split second decision to go to Steve’s house. His house was the closest to where Dustin was.

By the time Troy and James had backtracked and saw where he was, he had a good head start, running faster than he knew he could. The possibility of _what_ _if_ _they_ _have_ _a_ _knife_ _again_ spurred Dustin on as he ran down Steve’s street. He ran up to the house and pounded on the door, waiting breathlessly for what seemed like ages. The door swung open, and Dustin’s head snapped towards Steve from where he had been looking anxiously down the road.

Dustin wanted to just shove past Steve into his house and explain what was going on after he was safe, but Steve was taking up almost the whole door frame, which was narrow, and was blocking any chance he had of that. “What’re-”

“Steve, please, Troy and James are following me, and they’re _right_ _behind_ _me_ -”

Almost instantly recognizing the names as the guys who were the bullies Dustin had told him about, Steve shoved Dustin behind him and slammed the door, locking it immediately, just as Troy and James ran up onto Steve’s front step.

Troy and James started pounding on the door, demanding to be let in, as Steve tried to reassure a very anxious and shaken Dustin. “Hey, listen, Henderson, you’re in my house now, and they can’t get in. You’re safe.” Dustin looked at Steve and nodded, jumping and nearly yelping in fear when Troy slammed the flat of his hand against the door.

“We have rocks!” Troy shouted, probably assuming that this was Dustin’s house or something similar. “We’ll break the window to get in if you don’t open the door, Toothless!”

Steve’s eyes narrowed at the nickname, and he knew that if these kids were ruthless enough to almost cut out Dustin’s teeth and force Mike to jump to almost certain death, they’d follow through with their threat to break his front window.

Steve turned back to Dustin. “Go to my room. Upstairs. First room on the right. Lock the door and don’t come out till I say it’s safe.” Dustin looked about to protest, but as the threatening screams from outside came more forcefully, Dustin closed his mouth and nodded. He ran upstairs and into Steve’s room. The room was facing the front door, so he could see what was going on. Instead of closing and locking the door, he left it open a crack and peeked from his vantage point.

Steve jerked the door open as soon as Dustin was safely in his room. “What do you want?” he snapped at the two teenagers.

“Who are you?” Troy sneered, instead of answering.

“ _What_ do you _want_?” Steve asked more forcefully, crossing his arms across his chest, and James looked at him balefully.

“Where’s Toothless?”

“Who?”

“We saw him come in here,” Troy scowled.

Steve wanted to deny the fact, but he couldn’t pretend that Dustin wasn’t there since they witnessed him run into the house seconds before they arrived at his front door. “Oh, you mean _Dustin_ ,” Steve said, stressing his name. He knew there was no point, seeing as that wouldn’t make the two shitheads in front of him call the kid anything different, but he felt like he needed to.

“Yeah.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Why are you hiding him?” Troy returned, and Steve gave him a withering look.

“Look, kid, this is _my_ house, so I suggest that you leave.”

“Not before we see Toothle-”

“ _Leave_.”

Troy growled at Steve, but James saw the murderous look and Steve’s eyes, and the stubbornness. “Look man, we can get him later.” Troy glanced at James before looking back at Steve.

“Whatever.”

They started to leave, but Steve felt his hands clench into fists. He knew they were planning on hurting Dustin when he _wasn’t_ around and _couldn’t_ help, and that was _not_ happening. He knew there was no way in hell he’d be around all the time to protect Dustin, so he needed an alternative. He suddenly wished he had his nail bat that was in the trunk of his car so that he seemed more threatening.

He stepped out and closed the door firmly behind him, the loud slam causing Troy and James to turn around, starting in surprise when they saw Steve was _outside_ the house, looking furious, and walking towards them.

“Hey! Listen, you little shitheads, leave Dustin alone. Leave _all_ of them- Mike, Lucas, Will, Dustin, any friends they have, _all_ _of_ _them_ \- alone.”

Troy snorted. “Or what?”

Steve _really_ wished that hitting someone half his size wouldn’t get him in trouble. He couldn’t hit them, but he could at least scare the shit out them so that they’d never bother the kids again.

He crossed his arms against his chest. “Or I’ll find you. And you’ll wish you’d never even _looked_ their way.”

James seemed nervous and wanted to agree, but Troy stared at him defiantly, admittedly a little scared but still cocky. “We’re not afraid of you. You wouldn’t hit a kid.”

Steve cocked an eyebrow. “No?”

His whole demeanor, with his arms crossed and eyebrow raised and deadly glare, started to make Troy doubt himself, wavering.

“You heard me,” he stated. “You wouldn’t hit us.”

They were right, to an extent. He _felt_ like murdering them and could probably hit them if he caught them in the act, but at that moment? Not a chance. But they didn’t have to know that. Protectiveness rose in him as he looked at the two bullies. “I look after those little dipshits which means I hurt anyone who hurts them. Got it?”

James was terrified and Troy beginning to become scared, so he tried one more insult. “The girl was scarier than you.” Steve connected the dots in his head, figuring that they meant El. He was about to reply when Troy continued, “A girl with a shaved head was more threatening than you’ll ever be.”

Steve remembered suddenly that before El had curly hair, she had had a shaved head. He thought about the stories he’d heard of her from before he’d met her, and about what she’d done when he was there. How she found her ‘mama’, who was driven insane by the scientists at the lab. How she found her sister and almost killed someone, leaving Kali to come back home. How she closed the gate and all throughout everything dealt with isolation from Mike, who he knew she loved.

The comment was meant to be a jibe, but Steve inclined his head in agreement. “Yeah, probably,” he said nonchalantly, not rising to the taunt, especially since it was true. “And she’s on _my_ side. So either you promise not to harm or tease or bully or even _look_ _wrong_ _at_ Dustin, Will, Mike, Lucas, and any of their friends ever again, or I’ll get El- that’s the girl who broke your arm -and tell her to feel free to hurt you guys. She _really_ doesn’t like you two.”

Fear flashed across Troy’s face openly, and James looked scared out of his mind. When they stayed silent, Steve insisted, “ _Promise_ me.”

James immediately did so, and looked at Troy expectantly, who eventually forced out through gritted teeth, “I promise.”

Steve nodded in satisfaction. “I know your word may not be shit, but understand that if I catch you breaking it, or anyone tells me that you’ve broken it, it won’t be the only thing that’s broken.”

Troy and James nodded, James gulping slightly. “Now _leave_.” They both sprinted away in fear, and Steve watched them till they were too far off to be seen.

Steve opened the door, jumping back slightly when he heard a soft ‘shit’. He walked inside and closed the door, finding a very guilty looking Dustin rubbing his arm from where it had been hit by the door. Steve sighed internally, knowing Dustin had most likely seen or heard the whole thing, probably watching from Steve’s room when the front door had been open and then listening through the front door when the conversation had moved outside.

“I told you to stay in my room,” Steve said, but there was no anger in his tone.

“That was _epic_.”

Steve sighed, hiding a smile. He pointed at Dustin, looking at him slightly sternly, but not unkindly. “If they bother you again, I expect you to tell me.”

Dustin nodded vigorously. “I will.” He looked at Steve with awe in his eyes. “ _That_ _was_ _epic_.”

Steve smiled and rolled his eyes slightly. His eyes landed on the clock, and he realized it was getting late. “Okay, it’s almost dinnertime, we should get you home.”

Dustin looked hesitant, and Steve said, “I’ll drive you.” Dustin nodded in relief, and Steve drove Dustin to his house, the car ride filled with silence except for the radio as Dustin looked in reverence at the teen who had become like a pseudo older brother to him. He snapped out of it, though, when Steve pulled up to Dustin’s house.

Dustin opened the door of the car, climbing out. He shut the car door, walking towards his house before turning back to where Steve was watching him to make sure he got inside safely.

“Steve?” he called, and Steve rolled down the window on the right side of the car so he could hear him.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks,” Dustin said, grinning widely.

Steve smiled back, in spite of himself. “Anytime, dipshit.”


End file.
